EXCLUSIVE: Anchorman 2 Is Dead But Step Brothers 2 Is A Real Possibility

In addition to our exhaustive conversation about his possible adaptation of Garth Ennis' The Boys, I had the chance to talk to writer/director Adam McKay about the future of his work with regular partner and star Will Ferrell. The Other Guys, which comes out August 6, is the fourth film that has seen the two work together as director and star, and while they may be taking a short break from one another, that doesn't mean they've stopped thinking of ideas for collaborations.

Since the film came out in the summer of 2004 and developed a massive cult following, fans have been clamoring for the return of Anchorman Ron Burgundy. The project has recently seen it's ups and downs, McKay first tweeting back in April that the film was dead due to disagreements about budget and getting a second life in early May with suggestion that it be done on the cheap, but now, sorry to say, the dream is officially dead ... for now. Quoth McKay:

It’s not happening, for sure, one-hundred percent. I’ll put it to bed. The only way it could come back [would be] in two years, three years, but to line everyone’s schedule up and to get everything done, and when it fell apart, to put that back together again your still talking about waiting. If I go do The Boys, that’s another two years, year and a half. You don’t know what people are doing when I get done with that. It’s a lot of work to line it up. That was why, no hard feelings against Paramount, we were doing many cool projects over there, but that’s why when it didn’t quite work out with the numbers it was like “that’s it.” You can’t wait for that or be in a holding pattern. But, oh well. Maybe it’s for the best. You don’t need sequels for everything. It was such a great experience doing that, but let it stand.

But just because one sequel is being put down doesn't mean that McKay and Ferrell have completely divorced themselves from the idea of a sequel. In fact, it is quite the contrary. In the ashes where Anchorman 2 once stood, now has entered the very real possibility of Step Brothers 2. Said the director, the original film, which starred Ferrell opposite John C. Reilly, doesn't have the same size following that his first feature effort had but is still loved by many. After lauding the first one's cast, which featured Richard Jenkins Mary Steenburgen, Adam Scott, and Kathryn Hahn, McKay expressed that his real desire is to reteam Ferrell and Reilly, saying "As a viewer, I want to see them in eight or nine comedies together."

But while both McKay and Ferrell would like to see a sequel happen (the director refers to it as "an exercise in going into a new world or a new arena"), failing to do so wouldn't kill his efforts to see the two actors back together. In addition to working on sequel plans, the McKay-Ferrell duo has "three or four other ideas that [they’re] kicking around," though none of them are fully formed thoughts just yet. While he has an idea of where he wants to go with his future projects, he is prepared for the unexpected:

I’ve said all that and maybe a year from now we have dinner with Russell Crowe and we’re like “Hey! It’s Russell Crowe!” We sort of follow the most interesting idea.